Background The designs of Maison Worth took advantage of the proportions of large women to showcase magnificent, grand-scale textiles that would overwhelm more diminutive clients. This ball gown, made for Mrs. Calvin Brice, is dominated by its spectacular variegated American Beauty rose brocade. To offset the power of the textile, the designer softens the neckline and sleeve edges with a bib and ruffles of rich gold metallic lace and caps the sleeve with a cluster of silk flowers. Description Bodice: Boned, fitted, waist-length, rounded busk points center front and center back; waist-length V-shaped lace bib at front; off-the-shoulder neck; organza cap undersleeve, gathered lace ruffle, flower clusters at armholes and shoulders. Skirt: Trumpet shape, floor-length with train. Garment structure The boned bodice extends to the waist with rounded points at both the center front and center back. Close fit is achieved with seams from the shoulders to the waist on the front and from the armholes to the waist on the back. The waist edge is finished with a single line of corded piping. The bodice laces at center back. The gathered lace flounces around the armholes overlay and are supported by organza undersleeves. The trumpet-shaped skirt has a floor-length train. The skirt front is flat with inverted pleats on either side of the center. Worn by Mrs. Calvin S. Brice. Anonymous Gift, 1942.

Background Jean-Philippe Worth’s stately, yet spectacular afternoon dress was commissioned by an older client, to be worn in her capacity as mother-of-the-bride. The Lyon-produced textile depicts a stylized "kousa" or Japanese flowering dogwood—distinguished by its petal-like pointed bracts, and bamboo canes. The judicious placement of the kaleidoscopically- seamed motifs amplifies the power of the silk’s visual effect and interjects an additional dimension of artistry into the design. Description Bodice: Combined jacket and blouse; boned, fitted, waist-length, curved tails; integral lace vestee with high stand collar; long fitted sleeves, gathered at shoulder, extending past wrist, open from inner elbow to end; lace inset extending past wrist; silk cord loop and buttons; damask half belt at front. Skirt: Floor-length with train; flat in front, full in back. Garment structure Some of the most beautiful seaming occurs at the bodice center back, which provides a delicately scaled preview of the larger motif mirroring of the skirt. The contours of the skirt are as much determined by the textile’s sweeping motifs as the motifs themselves are enhanced by the contouring. Despite its conservative design and narrow front, the skirt back opens out into a surprisingly luxurious train. The train’s overlapping knife-pleated panels repeat the mirroring of the bodice back and center front of the dress. Worn by Mrs. Henry A. Tailer, at the marriage of her daughter, January 16, 1896. Gift of Mrs. S. Breck Parkman Trowbridge, 1949.

Background The splendor of this 17th-century revival-style design worn by the mother of a bride could just as easily have placed it onstage or at a fancy dress ball. A variation on a popular 1890s Worth favorite, its modular components include exaggerated puffed sleeves, a bell-shaped split-paneled skirt, and an enormous pearl-encrusted Bruges lace collar. The velvet motifs of this gown were outlined with glass pearls, but cleverly only on its skirt front panel – so that its wearer would not crush the eggshell-thin glass when seated for her daughter’s nuptial banquet. Description Open robe style Bodice: Boned, fitted, waist-length, center front points; square neck, lace bertha collar; elbow-length melon sleeves; lace over ribbed silk band at sleeve opening, ribbed silk bow and aiglets; cream satin sash, bow with fringed streamers left of center front; applied pearls overall; center front lace-up closure. Skirt: Floor-length with train, five fabric lengths; ribbed silk underskirt, self bows with aiglets center front waist to hem; voided velvet overskirt, open center front, applied pearls on front panels; concealed on-seam pocket within train right of center back. Garment structure The laced bodice closure is completely concealed at center front by a lace panel. The eyelets for the lacing are on a sub-layer at center front. After the bodice is laced, the lace- trimmed panel is folded over the opening and fastened with hooks and eyes, and the voided velvet sections are folded into place. The square neckline is trimmed with a mid-19th century mixed bobbin and needle lace (Bruges), its motifs outlined with pearls. The lace folds to the inside at the back neck edge, consistent with Worth’s respect for the beauty and value of the material by shaping through folding, rather than cutting. The silk sash holds the panels and fastens left of the center front with a large rosette and has silk fringe at the ends. The bodice back is fitted with a seam center back and seams from the armholes to the waist. The fabric pattern is matched on all seams. The overskirt opens at center front to show the ribbed silk underskirt. The underskirt is trimmed with five matching bows and pearl and braid aiglets. Double inverted pleats at the back create a back fullness and rounded train. The taffeta backing and skirt lining is rust-colored taffeta. Worn by grandmother of donor to the 1897 wedding of her daughter. Gift of Mrs. Moorhead C. Kennedy, 1985.

Background In early 1897, Jean-Philippe Worth received a rush order for a fancy dress costume from a regular client via transatlantic cable. Recreating the costume worn by the Infanta as portrayed by Velasquez through the use of modular components and an accurate dress form maintained for his client, Worth was able to complete and ship his commission back to New York 24 hours later. The gown itself betrays no evidence of its lightning-fast manufacture. Its silken lining and silver lace underscore the high period standards borne by all garments carrying the Worth label. Description Bodice: Barrel-shaped, padded; boned, waist-length, center front busk point; bateau neck, pleated organza inset, galon d’argent edging, lace shoulder ruffle, ruched velvet band, taffeta cockade at collarbone; long puffed organza sleeves, overlaid with embellished satin bands, creating slashed effect, triple-layered mushroom pleated organza gauntlet cuffs, applied lace at wrist and cuff edges, pink satin double bow at wrists; garland draped across torso from right shoulder to left waist, looped end falling to knee. Skirt: Pannier-style, floor-length, triple tiers of embellished satin; lace apron. Garment structure In true 17th-century manner, the shaping of the heavily boned and padded bodice makes no attempt to conform to the body’s natural contours—a radical departure from other contemporary period interpretations. Both bodice and double-layered white satin skirt are applied with hand-sewn satin-weave-edged white organza ribbon, its stripes separated by bands of galon d'argent. The converging bodice ribbons are mitered into a center front seam. The ribbons on the skirt are horizontally placed. Worn by Kate Brice to the Bradley-Martin Ball, February 10, 1897. Anonymous Gift, 1942.

Background Jean-Philippe Worth combined two contrasting versions of a Turkish-inspired palmetto motif in this sumptuous reception dress. Worth was so taken with the velvet that he incorporated it into a fancy dress costume he personally wore as Capulet in 1898. The bodice of the gold and cream princess-cut gown is overlaid with a bib of hand-made lace. Intended to slenderize and elongate the silhouette of a large-scale client, velvet panels voided in the same motif are tacked to and fall from the shoulder, resolving in a fringed and jeweled hem. Description Dress: Princess line, floor-length with train; boned, fitted to waist, skirt flat in front, fuller in back; wide square neck; sleeveless, chiffon puffs at top and lower armhole edges; integral floor-length velvet floating panels, gathered at shoulders, exposed selvages, self fringe at ends with applied rhinestones and beads, pink satin lining; center back lace-up closure. Bib: Lace, circular; waist-length; square neck. Garment structure The panels are softly gathered over the shoulders and tacked front and back. There is a puffed bowknot at the back shoulder, from which the train-length velvet panel falls. The puffed chiffon applied to the armhole is in two overlapping halves. The bottom half is supported by an underarm-shield shaped brocade panel and acts as a modesty piece. The upper half supports the lace bib at the shoulder. The princess dress panels are lightly shaped to the hip by internal boning and fall freely from hip to hem. The dress laces at center back and is lined in yellow silk. Anonymous Gift, 1942.

Background An adaptation of the more sober and businesslike male approach to dressing, the tailor-made suit easily found its way into the wardrobes of late-19th century enlightened woman. The most common early cuts combined stylish short jackets with gored trumpet skirts and were accessorized with crisp linen or patterned cotton shirtwaist blouses. Here Worth modifies the innate simplicity of this formula to interject the formidable stitching and tailoring skills that would legitimize the cost differential between his version and the one produced in a Ladies’ Mile department store workroom. Description Jacket: Princess line, jacket and vest effect; calf-length; diamond and circle embroidery at center front, neck to waist, box pleats either side of center front and center back form interlacing strapwork at waist; high velvet neck, octagon and spoke embroidered mock collar; gigot sleeves, puffed and box-pleated upper arm to elbow, fitted to wrist, applied velvet band and three velvet buttons below elbow, notched opening at wrist, velvet inset, gilt and octagon and spoke embroidery; damask lining. Skirt: Trumpet-shaped, floor-length, slight train; topstitching in Greek key motif at hem; center back hook-and-eye closure; taffeta lining. Garment structure This tailor-made suit has a calf-length princess line jacket which is trimmed with strips of embroidery with an octagon and spoke design. The trims were first embroidered in silk floss, chenille, and metallic chain on pale blue velvet. The velvet was then trimmed away close to the embroidery. The trims were finally applied to the jacket by hand. Embellished with a topstitched Greek key motif at the hemline, the trumpet-shaped skirt has a slight train. The skirt has a separate shaped waistband and a taffeta lining with a dust ruffle. Separate closures at center back for the skirt and the lining fasten with hooks and eyes. Anonymous gift, 1987.

Background Rather than the vivid jewel colors so frequently favored by Maison Worth, this afternoon dress turns to the graphic effect of simple black and white. The staggered widths of its woven stripes provide an optical resonance at the converging, mitered seam joins. The vision that has placed the most powerful seaming at the dress’s center front exemplifies the artistry and precision dressmaking that are emblematic of the house. Description Bodice: Boned, fitted; waist-length, double breasted; low, round neck, chiffon fichu, lace ruffle; satin bow at center front bust; below-elbow length sleeves, gathered at inner elbow, gathered tulle undersleeve, lace engageante at opening; V-shaped satin girdle extending into center back bow with floor-length streamers; enamel buttons (not original to garment); center front hook-and-eye-closure. Skirt: Trumpet-shaped, flat in front, full in back; floor-length with train. Garment structure Although more modern and straightforward in attitude, the dress retains many features of the late 1890s, including its boned bodice and controlled waist and the flat-front, floor-length skirt with its sweeping rounded train. The bodice front folds down at the neck edge, in semblance of a collar, and is finished with a black satin bow. The center front hook-and-eye closure is concealed beneath an off-center decorative overlap. The V-shaped girdle on each side is fashioned from black satin ribbons that are pleated into the desired shape; they extend to back, forming a bow with hem-length streamers. The below-elbow, tube-shaped sleeves are cut with a slight fullness at the top and are trimmed with a self-fabric bow and a gathered lace-over-tulle flounce. Gift of Mrs. Donald P. Spence, 1974.